Taking Care Of Yourself; A Lesson From the Flight Deck

Taking Care Of Yourself; A Lesson From the Flight Deck

I heard the best thing on a flight this morning. No, it wasn’t about free peanuts or moving about the cabin. Or surprise complimentary Bloody Mary’s (which didn’t happen).

I heard the best thing on a flight this morning. No, it wasn’t about free peanuts or moving about the cabin. Or surprise complimentary Bloody Marys (which didn’t happen).

“Please remember to put on your oxygen mask first before helping others.”

Apropos, as I was on my way to visit a friend recently thrown into a universe of no sleep, unkempt hair, long-lost pedicures, missed meals. You know, The World According to Mom. Welcome, my dear friend.

This phrase elicited a response from me (a silent one, of course…who yells out in the middle of a flight these days?): Am I not a bad person if I help myself first?

The answer, in some cases, is surprising—no.

We moms often find ourselves the last do things. The last to eat lunch. The last to go to bed. The last to do something we enjoy. I’ve often found myself standing at the door half-dressed, while everyone else is putting on coats to leave the house. Why we’re never the last one to get up in the morning, I don’t understand.